Thor to battle forces of Hell in new arc

Writer Kieron Gillen is sending Thor on a quest to Hell to save the souls of fallen Asgardians.

Beginning next month in Thor #611, the four-issue arc follows on from the events of the Siege: Loki special and revisits elements the scribe introduced in New Mutants.

"In these four issues of Thor, I'm not playing off anything else other than my ideas of who the character is and what I think he should do. Which I know sounds arrogant, but it's not," Gillen told CBR.

"No, really. It's more like this is the first time I can build something from [the] whole cloth rather than having to weave into other tapestries."

The story features artwork from Rich Elson and Doug Braithwaite. "Both Rich and Doug are guys who are very good at this kind of thing. I'm trying to create enough space so they can really cut loose and create these incredible pieces of imagery," he added.

"The idea of Thor going to Hell and marching across this plain of bones just fires the imagination. This story involves prototypical pulp imagery. I'm embracing that part of the genre."

Gillen's run on Thor began in December when he took the reins from J Michael Straczynski.

Thor #611 arrives in stores in July.